In solidarity with Ruymán Rodríguez and the FAGC

On the 30th of April 2015, in Santa María de Guía, Grand Canary, the anarchist activist Ruymán Rodríguez, member of the Federación de Anarquistas de Gran Canaria (FAGC)/Anarchist Federation of the Grand Canary, member of the recently created Sindicato de Inquilinos de Gran Canaria/Tenants Union of the Grand Canary, was arrested by the Guardia Civil, without any motive given, taken to the police station and subjected to torture (beatings and strangling).

The tortures had as their objective to intimidate him into abandoning the “La Esperanza” Community, the largest okupation in the spanish State (76 families, 207 persons, more than a 100 children) of which he was the neighbour and one of the principal promoters.

This act of repression is part of the larger persecultion suffered by the FAGC due to its expropriating and socialising activity, freeing more than 300 buildings and housing more than a thousand people.

Before this detention and torture, the Guardia Civil accused him of “attacking and undermining authority”.

In a quick judgement, the judge of lessened the accusation to disobedience. The Guardia Civil appealed. The provincial tribunal accepted the appeal, but charged a Guardia Civil agent with aggression, which gives an indication of the gravity of the events.

Ruymán is currently accused of attacking authority by the same Guardia Civil agent who tortured him.

He risks 5 years in prison and finds himself before a costly legal proceeding.

2700 Euros is the cost of the whole proceeding, considered “highly complex”, that he faces.

Ruymán finds himself unemployed and economically bankrupt, due to fines, freezing of bank accounts and legal proceedings that he has suffered because of his actions in re-housing families with none. His comrades, the FAGC and the Tenants Union find themselves in a similar situation.

For these reasons, the Tenants Union faces numerous costs. We call has thus been made for economic solidarity.